In a meeting on Thursday, Big Ten athletic directors expressed their support for the league to take action regarding Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, according to sources from Yahoo Sports. The athletic directors, for the second time in a week, met with commissioner Tony Petitti to discuss the NCAA’s investigation into the scandal, which involves a Michigan staff member personally scouting opponents to learn their play-call signals.
Last week, the athletic directors had a similar meeting with the commissioner, and a group of Big Ten presidents also discussed the issue with Petitti after a scheduled meeting of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. Michigan president Santa Ono initially took part in the call but later logged off to allow others to discuss the situation.
The call that took place on Thursday evening followed a meeting of Big Ten head football coaches, who passionately called on Petitti to take action, as first reported by ESPN. Petitti, who has only been in the job for eight months, is facing pressure from coaches, athletic directors, and even presidents to penalize the Wolverines, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the country with an undefeated record of 8-0.
However, it remains uncertain what decision the league will make, although various options have been discussed. During the past week, Petitti and high-level school administrators have explored a wide range of possibilities. One potential penalty that has been mentioned is a suspension of coach Jim Harbaugh, which would be a direct and “clean” penalty.
Implementing a penalty of this nature from the conference is somewhat unprecedented and could potentially lead to legal action from the program if it is considered too severe, according to legal experts consulted by Yahoo Sports. The Big Ten’s penalty falls under the conference’s sportsmanship policy, which allows the commissioner to impose disciplinary measures for violations that undermine the “integrity of competition” within the “competitive arena,” as stated in the policy.
The policy was a central topic of discussion between school leaders and Petitti last week. According to the policy, the commissioner can implement “standard” or “major” disciplinary actions. “Standard” actions may include fines of up to $10,000 and suspensions of no more than two games. “Major” actions exceed these penalties and require approval from the Big Ten executive board of presidents.
With more evidence emerging regarding the sign-stealing scandal, Big Ten school administrators and coaches are increasingly pressuring the commissioner to take action. However, this is a challenging situation.
In typical protocol, leagues rely on the NCAA to enforce penalties. The NCAA has been investigating Michigan for three weeks. However, Petitti informed school leaders that the NCAA’s investigation into the Wolverines is progressing at a more “accelerated” pace than usual.
